On September 18, 2023, we hand picked Pinot Noir in the dark, by work lights, at our vineyard in Eagle Point, Oregon. The first photo from that morning is timed 4:19 a.m.: a picker carrying a white bucket down a lit row.
By 6:22 the picking buckets were set out along the dirt road, with a lit building at the far end. At sunrise a tractor stood at the end of the rows with two empty bins on its trailer. The last photo, at 10:19, shows bins heaped with clusters.
What we planned that year
Our plan for 2023 was about 5.5 tons of Pinot Noir for rosé and 2.5 tons for a red. Both were to be picked selectively ahead of the main machine harvest, and the rosé was to follow the style of our 2022.
Our tech notes say the 2023 Estate Rosé and the 2023 Estate Pinot Noir were both hand harvested in late September.
The rosé spent 6 hours on the skins and fermented in stainless steel; it’s 12.8% alcohol. The Estate Pinot Noir went into small fermenters as whole, destemmed berries and aged 16 months in French oak; it’s 13.8%.
Weather
From May through August every month ran warm at the Medford airport, and it peaked at 111°F on August 14. By September 18, the modeled heat total for our vineyard (growing degree days, which track ripening) was about a fifth above the 1991 to 2020 average for the date.
The heavy rain came a week after this pick. More than 2 inches fell at the airport from September 25 to 29.
Both wines are in our shop: the 2023 Estate Rosé ($35) and the 2023 Estate Pinot Noir ($45). On 12 or more bottles, in any mix, you get 20% off and $25 flat-rate shipping.
